Archive for the ‘health’ Category
About instincts – Mine and the mama dog’s
Daisy May? Angie?
Tonight I tentatively let out a sigh of relief…it seems our mama, Daisy May? Angie? has again decided to act like a mother. Her pups seemed content and are quietly sleeping when alone and vigorously crawling when she’s nursing them. They seem cleaner and as I watched her tonight she is attending to each of their elimination needs. although somewhat frantically. So it seems whatever derailed her a few nights ago is past us, that she’s back on track.
So, thinking this, I took her out for her last potty of the night. And I see her sniff and squat and I think “FINALLY” and then she sits down and watches the fireflies…sigh. But sooner than usual she gets down to business and potties…hurray. These little steps, like her realizing that she gets only a few times outside and that is the time for her to do her business, are huge accomplishments for her. As I was scooping up her liquid poop with a plastic bag in the dark while trying to hold onto her leash the thought hit me, “do veterinarians really know what they are talking about? Really?” I was told that whipworm is extremely contagious and that I should pick up all the poop immediately. As the vet told me this I said, “really? How?” and then as if an after thought they say “do the best you can” But when I ask abut how to protect myself and my family they say “make sure you wash your hands with soap and water.” SO, this highly contagious parasite that can live in the soil for FIVE years is adequately done away with using common soap and water. Why then can’t I just carry a spray bottle of the stuff and after unsuccessfully removing the poop blob just spray the whole thing with the apparently toxic bathroom staple?? Something doesn’t jive; either the parasite’s virulence is overrated or the merits of soap and water are. Either way, I think it is clear that NO ONE IN MY VET”s clinic (and I have to say I like these people a lot) have had to deal with a dog with whipworm or her poop lately – otherwise they would never advise me to remove all the poop, they’d say, “get the majority of it up and then NEVER WALK ANY ANIMAL ON THAT STRETCH OF LAWN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.” Right?
Whatever.
So, the puppies are all sounding snotty and nasally. Sigh. I also feel sort of duped by the vet for bringing them all in and then getting no advice (or treatment) on how to stop what I knew was going to be an outbreak of kennel cough across my entire litter. I also suspect that the vet visit was a major contributing factor in making mama Angie or Daisy May or whatever we are going to call her feel like rejecting her pups….Sigh. Should have followed my gut there. Next time.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like medical advice. I also like medicine. But we need to always listen to our instincts and not follow other people’s advice without checking it out with ourselves first. Lesson learned, again.
Mothering doesn’t come easy to some dogs
It has been awhile since I last wrote. I’ve been in a very resistant place regarding this new mama we’ve got. I now think that taking on another foster so soon is extra difficult because the comparison between the dog and puppies that are leaving and the new group isn’t fair…one set is used to your routine and are a known entity, all fun and cuddly and ready to go to their new homes, and the other set is clueless to what you want and skinny and needy and frail…
So, needless to say this transition has been difficult on me. Added to that this new mama… the name Angel doesn’t fit, I like Angie better, or Daisy May. Anyway, this new dog is really young and doesn’t know what to do. So I was full of resistance to what is…I wanted her to be like Chloe (who I really miss and who was such an amazing mother) and she’s not. She’s not like any of the dogs we’ve had but she isn’t all that bad…but just as I was sitting down to write this, about how our stories cloud our true vision and how when we stop resisting what is, we get all this new energy for dealing with what is…she started drinking the mop water…with bleach in it! So, she is sort of really stupid on some level…or really clueless, a real Daisy May…very sweet and skinny and cute but DUMB.
Ok, no more stories… Here is what has been happening… She seemed to be gaining her mommy legs after the tragic death of her puppy, nursing them well and all that, but then something (more…)
Updates and naming the puppies
The puppies are getting the hang of eating on their own – today I counted 5 of the 7 all lapping from their bowls at the same time! A new record.
Tonight I weighed them all and gave them a wormer. Even though their paperwork indicated they were wormed when they came into the shelter I was having my doubts. They’ve been with me since Saturday, making this day 5, and their bellies were still tight. So at 4 weeks their weights range from 3 lbs 1 ounce to 4 lbs 3 ounces!! Most were in the upper 3 pound range. If I kept better records I would know how this compares with other litters but alas I have not. Oh well.
I was thinking, since we had so much success with Annie‘s puppies being named after Rudolph’s reindeers, I was thinking of naming this group after flowers. It took some head scratching to come up with male sounding flower names (we have three males in the litter) but here they are in order of my favorite:
Female names: Poppy, Lily, Iris, Tulip, Daisy
Male names: Sweet William, Aster, Crocus, Jacob (Jacob’s Ladder)
Any votes which we keep and which one of each group we throw out? Just comment on this post (below) and let me know.
Heartgard best for heartworm protection
Hopefully you read my post on the merits of Frontline Plus and how to save a few dollars in the process. Ok, now a word on heartworm preventative…
If you live anywhere where there aren’t hard, killing frosts, you have no business stopping your heartworm preventative! Let me repeat: Treat your pet every singe month with a heartworm preventative if you live anywhere where some plants can survive all winter. Here in Illinois everything dies back or goes dormant for at least three months of the year: December, January, and February and these are the months that I stop heartworm treating my dogs. But this is the first time every that I did not treat for the full 12 months. Again, the reason I stopped was to try to save some money and it felt safe to me. But heartworm is a NASTY parasite and it will kill your dog. Don’t mess around. Prevention is easy but not all products are created equal.
I have been treating my pets (Cleo the cat and all my dogs) for the past 20 some years with Heartgard. The dogs LOVE the meaty chew and even our nearly 15 year old gobbles it up. It is never difficult to get the medication into the dogs. But you have to have your vet’s prescription to purchase the medication so I always just bought it from my vet. However, last year I tried two things. First I shopped online and found that the same products were slightly cheaper on PetMeds.com than at my vet. Second, I tried Interceptor. Shopping at PetMeds was a GOOD idea, switching products was not. See, I like Heartgard because it is easy to get the correct dose into my dogs and that dose covers other parasites as well; parasites like round worm and others. Interceptor says it covers other parasites too but the product comes in a hard tablet form and my dogs either swallowed it whole (the package said they were supposed to chew it for it to be effective) or refused to eat it. So I was forced to either jam it down their throats (which I did one month) or grind it up and mix it with some wet food – which was WAY more hassle than I wanted.
Frontline Plus is best for fleas and ticks
If you are like me, and live in a part of the world with four seasons you get to take a break from your flea and tick preventative. I stop treating my dogs after the first few hard frosts, usually sometime in late November or early December. But then, as spring approaches, I have to check my supplies. I try to keep enough on hand for at least one treatment in the spring before ordering my next years supply.
I used to purchase my favorite preventative, Frontline Plus, from my veterinarian when I got my heartworm preventative. But with four dogs and the tightening of our belts this past year, I started doing some research to see where I could find the best deals. And I was shocked to find Frontline Plus online through Amazon for nearly half the cost of what my veterinarian was charging. I have heard rumors that the products on Amazon aren’t as high quality as the ones you get through the vet’s office but I find that hard to believe. It says Frontline Plus on the package, looks exactly like the packaging I get through the vet’s office, and works perfectly. I think the people who don’t trust it when bought online are just new to our online, global market place.
Here’s why I like Frontline Plus so much:
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